Ship for recovering ocean waste

ABSTRACT

The present invention relates to a ship for recovering ocean waste. The invention aims to provide a means for recovering waste floating in the sea. Said aim is achieved by a ship ( 1 ) that recovers ocean waste, comprising at least two lateral hulls ( 2 ) which define a basin ( 3 ) therebetween. The ship according to the invention is characterised in that the basin ( 3 ) is open at the two ends thereof ( 6, 7 ) and comprises a plurality of consecutive sections ( 11, 12, 13 ) from the bow ( 6 ) to the stern ( 7 ) of the ship ( 1 ), each of which is provided with at least one collection device ( 21, 22, 23 ), the collection devices ( 21, 22, 23 ) of each section ( 11, 12, 13 ) being capable of collecting objects of different sizes, the sections ( 11, 12, 13 ) being arranged such that a device capable of collecting smaller objects is arranged behind a device capable of collecting larger objects.

The present invention relates o a ship for recovering ocean waste.

A vast expanse of the North Pacific, most often assessed at 3.5 million square kilometres, forms a kind of “soup” which experts estimate at several million tons of accumulated plastic debris that are floating between two waters, in a layer of a thickness of 10 to 30 meters.

This layer of the North Pacific is the world's largest waste dump, held in place by ocean currents, where growth projections made in 2008 already gave the impression that it could double in size over the next decade.

In 2006, oceanographer Charles Moore discovered this trash-vortex zone, consisting of non biodegraded waste, some since 50 years, not detectable by satellites moving under the water's surface made of 90% of plastics, like the total volume of all waste floating in the oceans.

The threat of this is also obvious for all marine ecosystems, since this polluted area of the Pacific is the manifestation of a phenomenon indeed affecting all the world's oceans, as this kind of waste floats in all oceans, including the polar regions, In some places, there would be more plastic waste than plankton.

The inevitable cleansing of these polluted areas so ultimately represents a gigantic project which can only be borne by the international community at large. The cleansing of the oceans is inevitable and urgent. A persistent deterioration of the situation would lead to an irreversible global catastrophe.

The object of the present invention is to provide means for recovering floating waste in the seas.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by a ship for recovering ocean waste which comprises at least two lateral hulls which define between them a basin. Depending on the size of the ship, it may also comprise more than two lateral hulls.

The ship according to the invention is characterised in that the basin between the hulls is open at both ends and comprises a plurality of successive sections from the bow to the stern of the ship, each of which is equipped with at least one pick-up device. Each section is equipped with pick-up devices capable of picking up objects of a specific size or a specific size range. The sections are arranged so that a device capable of picking-up smaller objects is arranged behind a device capable of picking up larger objects.

The overall width of the ship basin according to the invention and its height can define a treatment surface of the water layer on a vertical plane of the sea at least equal to 1000 m², preferably at least equal to 2000 m² and preferably at least equal to 3000 m², treated in its entirety by the pick-up devices, independently of their design or their arrangement.

The ship may be equipped with a deck connecting the hulls fitted with openings to allow the recovery of objects picked up by the pick-up devices. This technical deck may comprise superstructures for processing, storing and/or transshipping of the picked up objects. The technical deck may also be provided with attachment and/or retraction devices integral with the pick-up devices.

A ship exhibiting these characteristics allows to pick up floating waste effectively and economically. The ship has a limited drag resistance which is reduced to the sum of the widths of the hulls. The ship can thus move relatively quickly and process a considerable surface area.

When moving forward, floating waste can enter into the basin of the ship and will be picked up in different sections or by one or more pick-up devices provided in the respective section corresponding to the size of the object. The different pick-up devices are designed for picking up objects of different sizes. That is to say, each device is capable of picking up objects of a size within a specific size range.

The different sections are arranged so that a device capable of picking up smaller objects is arranged behind a device capable of picking up larger objects. This arrangement allows picking up larger objects in the front part of the ship. The pick-up devices of this section can be provided particularly for picking up large objects. They are particularly stable but, conversely, let through objects of a size below their size range.

The following sections are designed to be able to pick up objects of smaller sizes. The first section can for example be designed to be able to pick up the largest waste such as containers. The pick-up devices of the following sections are then protected against objects of that size and may be less resistant, but still sufficiently, for smaller objects.

The basin defined by the hulls may include a floor. This floor can connect hulls together and stabilises the structure.

The ship in accordance with the invention is preferably of the ballasted type so as to be able to navigate with different drafts. The ballasts can be in the hulls and/or in the floor. The advantage of ballasting is that the ship can sail at different levels in order to process a shallower layer of waste for example, or on the contrary, a thicker layer.

The hulls may be based on the SWATH (Small Waterplane Area Twin Hull) concept. The side hulls can each have a ballasted keel to allow the ship to float at different levels. A SWATH is a double-hull ship, each hull being deeply immersed. The central platform is connected to the hulls by thin junctions at the waterline. The benefit of this configuration is to improve the seaworthiness in bad weather conditions. The keels, in this configuration, due to their position, shape and volume, improve the hydrostatic and hydrodynamic stability of the ship and make the ship particularly stable and insensitive to the destabilising effects of the waves. Since the hulls are deeply immersed and the floating surface is reduced, the ship is far less exposed to the destabilising effects of the waves. Its movements are reduced by 20 to 50% compared to a monohull ship of the same displacement. This system can be applied to the ship according to the invention.

The sections of the ship according to the invention may have support elements for holding and/or guiding the pick-up devices. These support elements may be in particular one or more longitudinal walls or partitions. The walls or partitions of the sections are spaced from each other to allow the passage of objects of the size corresponding to the section concerned.

Preferably, the bow section of the ship is equipped with shock absorbing devices, preferably at least along all its immersed height, in particular with a coating of a material having a damping power as a rubberised coating and/or a damping device having springs and/or a hydraulic and/or a hydro-pneumatic device.

Advantageously, at least one pickup device includes one or more upwardly moving platforms or skips or shovels, integral with or independent from the pick-up device, fixed or hinged, and/or comprises or consists of nets or lattices with meshes or filtering barriers, in particular made from textiles.

The pick-up devices, in particular in the first area in the front section of the ship can be made of nets with large meshes or lattice, metal wire or metal mesh, or any material having sufficient strength. At the bottom of the nets or lattice, a horizontal platform may be provided, constituting a projection connected to the bottom of the net or lattice, enabling to lift floating waste at different depths. This platform can be formed of an extension of the net or lattice, forks or a metal plate. In another version, the waste lifting platform is independent of the net or of the lattice.

The pick-up devices may also be made of wire mesh skips, rotary conveyor belts, in particular comprising lifting means integral with or independent of the conveyor belts, especially lifting shovels, meshed skips, or fixed or hinged hooks.

The pick-ups devices can preferably be lifted and/or retracted and/or removed, According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, at least one section is provided with at least two successive pick-up devices in that configuration, one device can be lifted up, e.g. for maintenance reasons or because it is blocked by an object picked up, and the second device can meanwhile ensure the pick-up and can prevent the waste of non-adapted size from reaching into in the next section.

The ship may be equipped with a device for detecting and locating objects floating or immersed under the sea surface, and being located in the layer of water en the course of the ship, so as to allow the ship to slow down sufficiently in advance for picking up big waste.

The support elements for holding and/or guiding the pick-up devices, such as longitudinal partitions or walls, are preferably laterally displaceable and/or removable. This allows to increase or reduce their number, so as to increase or decrease the spacing, or to allow the installation of different pick-up devices, for example more sophisticated devices in case of a technical update at a later stage.

At least some of the pick-up devices may be tilted towards the rear of the ship. According to an advantageous embodiment of the invention the devices may be tilted to the rear at an angle smaller than 45° relative to the horizontal, in particular smaller than 30° C. and preferably smaller than 15°. This particularly applies to devices of the sections that are able to pick up smaller objects. These devices are more fragile because their mesh or lattice is finer. Their tilting makes it possible to reduce the forces exerted by an object which strikes the device.

The pick-up devices preferably comprise pick-up means such as conveyor belts, lattices, shovels or skips mounted on a rotating system, These pick-up means thus move during operation of the device in a tilted plane, preferably almost horizontally backwards, simultaneously leading upwards towards the deck of the ship.

The speed of operation of these devices can be controlled to obtain the best possible compromise between the relative speed of movement of the pick-up means, and the ship's movement speed, which can also vary according to multiple conditions. The higher the speed of rearward movement of the pick-up means, the more the resistance to the advancement of the ship of these pick-up means is reduced, but the efficiency of waste pick-up is reduced at the same time. It is therefore necessary to regulate the operating speed of the pick-up devices according to the ship's speed and to other factors involved for optimum efficiency,

The tilting of the pick-up means such as skips and shovels must of course be adapted to the tilting of the pick-up devices to which they belong to preserve their efficiency.

A portion of the pick-up devices may be movable in the opposite direction of the ship's direction of travel. The pick-up devices for smaller objects are on the one hand more fragile because their mesh or lattice is finer, and on the other hand they exhibit greater resistance to the advancement of the ship in the water layer. They can therefore be movable in their section in the longitudinal direction, for example on rails. A device in pick-up position can therefore move in the opposite direction to the direction of the ship to reduce the speed of impact of an object on the device and to reduce drag resistance. The effective speed of an impact or the resistance effectively exerted is the difference between the ship's speed and the device's movement speed in the reverse direction. Upon reaching the end of its section, the device can be lifted upwards, transported to the front of its section and start its journey again.

The ship can be equipped with a deck for storing, processing and/or transshipping picked-up objects to other ships, The deck can be equipped with cabins and kitchen facilities and other premises for the crew of up to more than 100 people.

The ship may be equipped with diesel electric propelling means, with Flettner rotors and/or solar sails.

The main propulsion may be provided by propellers, jets or pods or any other suitable technique. A propeller fairing will be advantageous to protect them against potential big waste.

The outer faces of the ship's side hulls can be equipped with fixed or removable support elements or devices for attachment of flexible or rigid, fixed or removable advertisement panels. Such support elements or devices allow sponsors to realise their advertisement panels individually. The installation of these panels takes very little time and does not immobilise the ship. The installation can be performed during regular maintenance of the ship or even during a mission in calm weather.

The invention is explained in more detail below with reference to the attached figures which show embodiments of the invention schematically:

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a ship according to the invention front perspective view;

FIG. 2 schematically illustrates a ship according to the invention in longitudinal cross-section

FIG. 3 schematically illustrates a ship according to the invention in horizontal cross-section.

It is specified that the figures show the invention purely schematically to explain its general operation. The figures are neither true to scale nor complete but schematically show only the items that are needed to appreciate the invention.

FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a ship I according to the invention as a front perspective view. The ship 1 has three lateral hulls 2 that define two basins 3 between them. The basins 3 are open at both ends wherein the front opening is visible in the figure. The basins 3 include a floor 4 and are each divided by a longitudinal wall 30. The basins 3 comprise three successive sections in the direction of travel D of the ship, whereas each of them is equipped with several pick-up devices for lifting the waste having entered the basins 3 to the processing deck 5 of the ship.

The height of the hulls 2 of the ship 1 described here as an example is about 50 m. Such a ship can intervene in a layer of water of up to 35 m deep. The hulls are ballasted to enable the ship to float at different levels.

The ship has a length of about 320 m and is divided into several sections as described below. All measurements given here are for informational purposes only. Depending on the intended area of intervention, the ship according to the invention may be larger or smaller, have more or fewer hulls or more or less sections.

The general principle of configuration of the ship 1 according to the invention is that the basins 3 open at both ends allow the passage of the sea and limit the drag resistance of the ship to the sum of the widths of hulls 2 and longitudinal walls 30 which are located between the hulls 2 and serve as supports for waste pick-up devices non-represented in FIG. 1.

Above the hulls 2 is a processing deck 6 with all the facilities for waste treatment. It is essentially the width of the ship.

In normal configuration, the floor of the processing deck 5 is between 10 m and 12 m above the sea level to enable the ship to continue working in rough seas or storm.

The first section 11 is intended for picking up the largest waste. It is located in the first 50 m of the ship and includes the devices for picking up very large waste such as containers or wood logs, weighing up to 20 tons or more, being generally of large size.

The processing deck 5 can comprise several waste transfer stations in order for transshipping, simultaneously on different stations, waste in the individual cargo bays of a ship positioned on one of its sides. The transshipment means include cranes 51, slides or conveyor belts.

The ship is equipped with diesel-electric propelling means. In addition, Fiettner rotors 9, also called turbo-sails, are added to reduce the consumption of the ship by about 30%.

FIG. 2 illustrates a ship 1 according to the invention in longitudinal cross-section. We can see the basin 3 which extends over the entire length of the ship and which is divided into three sections 11, 12, 1 Each section is equipped with several waste pick-up devices 21, 22, 23. The basin 3 has an opening 6 at the bow and at the stern 7 of the ship to allow sea water to pass through the sections 11, 12, 13. The pick-up devices 21 22, 23 lift the waste having entered the basin 3 and bring it to the processing deck 5 to be processed, stored and/or transhipped to other ships.

The pick-up devices 21 of the first section 11 are intended to pick up the largest waste. The first section 11 has a length of about 50 m. It comprises the devices 21 for the pick up of very large waste, such as containers lost by a container-carrier ship or logs, weighing 20 tons or more, and usually being of large size.

The first section 11 has two successive pick-up devices 21. They consist of nets with large meshes or lattice, metal cable or a metal mesh, or any material having sufficient strength. At the bottom of the nets or lattices, a horizontal platform 211 may be provided, constituting a projection connected to the bottom of the net or lattice, enabling to lift waste floating at different depths. The platform 211 is formed by an extension of the net or of the lattice, of forks, a metal plate or other suitable means.

The waste of the first section 11 is lifted on the fore deck of the ship which forms an important handling surface area. The deck comprises openings necessary for lifting waste by means of the pick-up devices. Handling and storage surface areas with winches or cranes 51 may be provided, and trolleys on rails can be provided to allow the movement and afterwards the storage of such large waste at the rear of the ship.

The first section 11 comprises two rows of pick-up devices 21, such that when a row of devices is lifting waste onto the factory processing deck 5, at least one other row continues to recover waste by preventing it from reaching the second section 12.

The bow 6 of the ship 1 is equipped with devices for detecting and locating objects floating in the layer of water on the course of the ship, so as to allow the ship to slow down sufficiently in advance for picking up big waste.

The second section 12 of the ship has a length of about 50 m. It s designed to recover medium-sized waste ranging from the size of a plastic bottle to debris of about 5 cm.

In the configuration shown in the figure, the second section includes three rows of pick-up devices 22. The pick-up devices 22 are substantially identical to those of the first section, apart from the size of the equipment and of the mesh for picking up, since the waste elements to be collected in this section 12 are much smaller. The first two rows are equipped with platforms 221, the last with forks 222 on a rotating conveyor belt. The platforms and forks on a rotating conveyor belt have a technical equivalence and can freely be replaced with each other.

The pick-up devices open directly onto the processing deck 5 through openings 52 of the factory deck floor designed for this purpose, through which the waste is recovered to be processed and stored.

The third section 13 of the ship has a length of about 200 m It uses the finest mesh or lattices, hence the most fragile metallic lattices or nets, because of their greater drag resistance in the water layer.

In order to enable the ship to maintain a high speed, the pick-up devices 23 of the third section 13 are mobile in the opposite direction I of the advancement direction D of the ship. Thus, when the ship moves forward at the speed of 40 km/h, the speed of the pick-up devices 13 may be 20 or 30 km/h in opposite direction I, which reduces the effective displacement speed of the pick-up devices to 20 or 10 km/h.

The third section 13 is much longer than the first and second sections 11, 12, because the reduction in the effective speed of the pick-up devices should allow the treatment of all waste arriving in this third section 13, which is made possible by a sufficient number of devices forming a sequence of devices constantly moving towards the back of the basin 3, each device 23 being retracted or lifted at the end of its run to allow recovery of the waste and the return of the device 23 to the front of the sequence to perform a new pick-up cycle.

The number of devices 23 shown in this figure is for illustration purposes only. In this configuration, an active sequence of at least four devices will be necessary on the operative length of the basin 3 of the sequence of devices. Taking into account the number of passive devices returning to the front of the operational sequence, each mobile sequence should include a total of at least eight to ten devices, evenly spaced, and preferably twelve to twenty devices.

FIG. 3 is a view of a ship 1 according to the invention in horizontal cross-section. The pick-up devices 21, 22. 23 are represented only partially and purely schematically.

We can see the three hulls 2 of the ship which define two basins 3 passing through the ship over its entire length. The basins 3 are open at the ends 6, 7 and are divided into three pick-up sections 11, 12, 13.

The first section 11 has pick-up devices 21 for the larger waste up to the size of a container.

Each section 11, 12, 13 is equipped with longitudinal walls 31, 32, 33. The ends of the hulls 2 and walls 31, 32, 33 serve as support for the devices 21, 22, 23 of each section 11, 12, 13 of the ship. These supports may be mobile sliders actuated by winches and cables, hydraulic, hydro-pneumatic or other means, or oscillating, hinged or telescopic arms or any other technique for horizontal and/or vertical mobility of the waste pick-up devices required.

The longitudinal walls 31, 32, 33 are fixed on support elements that make them removable and movable laterally, to increase or reduce the number thereof, to increase or decrease their spacing, or to allow installation of different or more advanced pick-up devices. The possibility of removing or storing the walls temporarily so as to form a large basin or to arrange them differently, also allows using the ship for other applications, The ship may for example be converted into an aquaculture ship.

In the second section 12, the longitudinal walls 32 are more numerous, thinner and closer together, to serve as support for the pick-up devices whose thinner and less solid meshes would hardly support a large pick-up width. The most significant constraints due to the increased drag resistance of the pick-up devices 22 therefore imply pick-up devices 22 which are less wide to offer sufficient strength.

The third section 13 comprises a number of partitions 33 supporting the pick-up devices 23 which is even greater than the second section 12.

The pick-up devices 23 of the third section 13 are movable in the opposite direction I to the moving direction D of the ship as already described above. 

1. Ship (1) for recovering ocean waste comprising at least two lateral hulls (2) which define between them a basin (3), characterised in that the basin (3) is open at both ends (6, 7) and has several successive sections (11, 12, 13) from the bow (6) towards the stem (7) of the ship (1) each of which is equipped with at least one pick-up device (21, 22, 23), the pick-up devices (21, 22, 23) of each section (11, 12, 13) being able to pick up objects of different sizes, the sections (11, 12, 13) being arranged so that a device capable of picking up smaller objects is arranged behind a device capable of picking up larger objects.
 2. Ship (1) according to claim 1, characterised in that the overall width of the basin (3) and its height define a treatment surface of the water layer on a vertical plane of the sea at least equal to 1000 m², preferably at least 2000 m² and preferably at least equal to 3000 m², treated in its entirety by the pick-up devices.
 3. Ship (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the ship (1) is equipped with a deck (5) connecting the hulls (2), fitted with openings to allow the recovery of objects picked up by the pick-up devices (21, 22, 23), and in that it contains superstructures for processing, storing and/or transshipping picked up objects.
 4. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 3, characterised in ha the hulls (2) delimiting the basin (3) are also linked by a floor (4).
 5. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 4, characterised in that he ship is ballasted.
 6. Ship (1) according to any of the claims to 5, characterised in that the sections (11, 12, 13) have support elements intended for maintaining and/or guiding the pick-up devices (21, 22, 23), in particular one or several longitudinal walls (31, 32, 33).
 7. Ship (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterised in that at least the immersed bow section (6) of the ship is equipped with shock absorbing devices, over all its height, in particular a coating of a material having a damping power, in particular a rubberised coating and/or a device having springs and/or a hydraulic and/or hydro-pneumatic device.
 8. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 7, characterised in that at least one pick-up device (21, 22) comprises one or several upwardly moving platforms or skips or shovels (211, 221).
 9. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 8, characterised in that at least one pick-up device (21, 22, 23) contains or is formed of nets or of lattices with meshes or filtering barriers, in particular made of textiles.
 10. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 9, characterised in that at least one pick-up device (21, 22, 23) contains rotary conveyor belts, comprising in particular lifting means which are integral with or independent from the conveyor belt, in particular shovels (222), meshed skips or fixed or hinged hooks.
 11. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 10, characterised in that the pick-up devices (21, 22, 23) can be lifted and/or retracted and/or removed.
 12. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 11, characterised in that the ship is equipped with a device (8) for detecting and/and locating objects floating or immersed under the sea surface and on the course of the ship.
 13. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 12, characterised in that the support elements, especially the longitudinal walls (31, 32, 33) can be displaced laterally and/or removed.
 14. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 13, characterised in that at least one portion of the pick-up devices is tilted towards the rear of the ship, preferably forming an angle smaller than 45° with respect to the horizontal, advantageously smaller than 30° and more advantageously smaller than 15°.
 15. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 14, characterised in that the pick-up devices (23) are movable in the opposite direction (I) of the travel direction (D) of the ship.
 16. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 15, characterised in that the ship is equipped with diesel electric propelling means, with Flettner rotors (9) and/or solar sails.
 17. Ship (1) according to any of the claims 1 to 16, characterised in that the outer faces of the ship's side hulls can be equipped with fixed or removable support elements or devices, for attachment of flexible or rigid, fixed or movable advertising panels. 